Leak detected aboard space station, but NASA says astronauts are safe

A "micro-meteorite" is believed to have caused the tiny leak.

The International Space Station is seen from the NASA space shuttle Endeavour after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation on May 29, 2011.NASA via Getty Images / Getty Images

The leak was detected around 7 p.m. EDT by flight controllers in Houston and Moscow. The controllers chose not to wake the astronauts, who were asleep at the time. This morning the astronauts gathered in the station's Russian segment, which is believed to be the source of the leak.